Success of Smart Cities in South Korea with Examples of Songdo and Sejong

MEASURING SUCCESS OF THE SMART CITIES: INSIGHTS FROM SOUTH KOREA Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University City (State) Date Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc176848272 \h 32. Discussion PAGEREF _Toc176848273 \h 42.1 Singapore: A Success Summary of Smart City PAGEREF _Toc176848274 \h 42.2 South Korea: An Economic and Historical Overview PAGEREF _Toc176848275 \h 52.3 Songdo: Smart City Evaluation PAGEREF _Toc176848276 \h 72.3.1 City Overview and Economic Insights. PAGEREF _Toc176848277 \h 72.3.2 Lifestyles and Sustainability. PAGEREF _Toc176848278 \h 92.3.3 Success or Failure. PAGEREF _Toc176848279 \h 102.4 Sejong: Smart City Evaluation PAGEREF _Toc176848280 \h 112.4.1 City Overview and Economic Insights. PAGEREF _Toc176848281 \h 112.4.2 Lifestyles and Sustainability. PAGEREF _Toc176848282 \h 122.4.3 Success or Failure. PAGEREF _Toc176848283 \h 142.5 Songdo vs. Sejong: Key Takeaways and Strategic Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc176848284 \h 153. Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc176848285 \h 16References PAGEREF _Toc176848286 \h 17Appendices PAGEREF _Toc176848287 \h 21 1. Introduction Smart cities are a modern concept that emerged with technological innovation, economic performance, and environmental sustainability. Theoretically, cities with smart technological integration, robust ecological controls, and progressive lifestyles are categorized as ‘smart’ worldwide. The ‘United Nations (UN)’ speculates that 70% of the world population will become a part of smart cities by 2050. The association will increase environmental friendliness, urban transportation networks, and clean water supply. Buildings and infrastructure will provide diverse amenities and high energy efficiency to improve residents’ lifestyles in the long run. Smart cities have excellent communication networks and virtual reality adaptation for households to facilitate lifestyle choices (Bonab et al., 2023). According to Gracias et al. (2023), smart cities have attracted significant investments and scholarly attention in past years. Government bodies and investors announced projects to improve smart city delivery, concept, and implementation for people globally. The research identifies smart cities as intelligent and digital-friendly for people. Smart cities prioritize sustainability, efficiency, and quality of life through technological integration for residents. Besides, smart cities offer more diversity, inclusivity, and geographical densities without restricting growth opportunities. Smart cities are sensible, synchronized, socialized, and augmented so people can enjoy a high quality of life in the long run (See Figure 1 in the Appendices; Gracias et al., 2023). This research will gather secondary data to measure the success of smart cities worldwide. The exploratory discussion focuses on Songdo and Sejong, the leading smart cities in South Korea. The discussion will explore Singapore’s global robustness as a smart city before exploring South Korean cities to position the success metrics. The research will measure success through economic factors, lifestyle quality, technological integrations, and sustainability controls in evaluating progressions. Smart cities are modern infrastructures for countries to adapt and grow with financial, technological, and climatic efficiencies. 2. Discussion 2.1 Singapore: A Success Summary of a Smart City Singapore is a benchmark for smart cities worldwide due to technology integrations, economic growth, and sustainability performance. Figure 2 in the Appendices illustrates Singapore’s technological performance in 2023. The indices found that the Singaporean government digitized the economy through infrastructure investments (Cinar et al., 2024). Singaporeans use digital solutions for activities like employment search and business opportunities. The internet speed and readability score 84.2%, the highest among other smart cities worldwide. 90% of Singaporeans own smartphones to access digital services, amenities, and communication interfaces in the long run. Besides, 71% of Singaporean education facilities teach information technology (IT) subjects to prepare future resources and secure continuous growth as a leading smart city worldwide (Romero, 2023). The statistics indicate that Singapore enjoys smart city success through technology and innovation. Figure 3 in the Appendices illustrates the economic overview and amenities citizens enjoy in Singapore. Singapore has a robust economy and success metrics to lead the smart city category (Sivaramakrishnan, 2019). The national healthcare system is digitized, empowering citizens to access robust medical facilities. Statistically, 47% of Singaporeans will surpass 65 years until 2050. Singapore has a 98% literacy rate until 2021, surpassing most Asian countries. Besides, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded US$501 billion, approximately US$85k GDP per capita (Lai & Cole, 2023). As a result, the country’s economic performance is an additional success index to measure smart city performance in the long run. Singapore’s financial performance and technological advancements complement national growth to lead the smart city index. Figure 4 in the Appendices illustrates the sustainability initiatives announced by the government to combat climatic challenges and smart city performances in Singapore. The statistics confirm that the ‘Singapore Green Plan 2030 (SGP)’ is led by five diverse ministries to improve sustainability performance. SGP aims to reduce landfill by 30% by deploying clean energy models. The government invested US$660 million in research and development (R&D) to reduce climatic impacts and provide a cleaner environment, water, and energy solutions until 2030 (Briones, 2023). Singapore aims to create smart public spaces nationwide to complement citizens’ livelihood and lifestyle choices through robust investments in the long run (Abdelkarim et al., 2023). 2.2 South Korea: An Economic and Historical Overview The Republic of South Korea (South Korea) emerged as an independent nation during World War II (WWII). The country witnessed war for seven decades while progressing towards modernization, democracy, and industrialization. South Korea has a 100,363 sq km area with 51.8 million population. South Korea surpasses newly independent Asian countries in technology, healthcare, and infrastructure development (BBC, 2023). As a result, South Korea is an emerging country with smart cities like Seoul, Songdo, and Sejong. According to the ‘World Bank Group (WBG) economic report, South Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita is US$33,745 in 2023. In the 1970s, the WBG supported South Korea’s economy by providing financial aid for infrastructure, social reforms, and technological developments. However, South Korea made robust decisions to become one of the most promising economies in Asia since the millennium. South Korea partnered with the WBG in 2022 for global innovation, flagship economy, and sustainability development. South Korea invested in education, infrastructure, and climatic initiatives to offer a quality lifestyle and continuous growth of citizens in the long run (The WBG, 2024). South Korea reached US$1.72 trillion by exporting manufactured and service sector goods worldwide. South Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia by GDP. Figure 5 in the Appendices illustrates South Korea’s GDP growth since 1954. The trend suggests that South Korea’s GDP has increased by 1.36%, a positive indicator for the country to proceed towards smart city initiatives (O’Neill, 2024). Reuters (2024) confirmed South Korea improved its GDP by exporting IT products. South Korea manufactures and exports display panels, computers, and wireless communication devices. ‘Samsung Electronics (Samsung)’ is South Korea’s leading IT exporter worldwide, with global leadership in consumer electronics and home appliances. Besides, South Korea’s automotive shipments increased by 4.8%. Companies like ‘Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai)’ and ‘Kia Motors (Kia)’ are the leading automotive exporters in South Korea (Reuters, 2024). Hence, industrialization supports South Korea in becoming a smart country through global technological and economic performances. Furthermore, South Korea holds 19th place in the ‘Human Development Index (HDI)’ ranking. The HDI performance confirms that a South Korean child has 80% productivity regardless of gender and social class association. The economy has 89% literacy participation, making South Korea the fifth most educated country globally. The nation has a 27% prevalence of hypertension in people aged between 30-79. The metric indicates that people enjoy a high-quality lifestyle with continuous growth and financial prosperity (The WBG, 2023). South Korea’s HDI ranking confirms innovation dominance, technological accessibility, and high living standards as valuable indicators for becoming a smart country in the long run. South Korea also made significant contributions to climate initiatives and environmental impacts. The United States of America (US) ‘Energy Information Administration (EIA)’ declared South Korea the seventh-largest country in energy consumption with a 2.7% CAGR annually. However, South Korea accomplished carbon neutrality by converting coal power into liquid natural gas (LNG) power plants for industrialization. The government announced the ‘3rd Energy Master Plan’ in 2019 to align environmental initiatives with the UN’s ‘Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)’ for continuous growth. South Korea integrated technology, infrastructure, and advancements to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints until 2035 (ITA, 2023). South Korea qualifies as a smart nation through sustainability initiatives driven by modern technology solutions, supported by economic performance and technological integration for continuous growth. 2.3 Songdo: Smart City Evaluation 2.3.1 City Overview and Economic Insights. Songdo International Business District (Songdo) is South Korea’s initial effort to make a smart city. Songdo is a reclaimed land within Incheon waterfront, southwest Seoul. The city has an airport for international geographical connections. Songdo is classified as a free economic zone in Icheon. Songdo’s infrastructure is inspired by the New York City (NYC) Central Park and Venice’s waterways so residents could experience luxury in South Korea’s first smart city. Songdo has a population of almost 170k residing on 1.5k acres of land (Lobo, 2023). Songdo had one of the largest private real estate worldwide in 2015. The city offered 80k apartments with separate office and retail spaces to foster business communities. The infrastructure operates on a ‘Wide Area Network (WAN)’ to houses, streets, and offices for robust connectivity and technological prosperity in South Korea (Lobo, 2023). Songdo was a promising vision of the South Korean government to offer the first smart city to the public and attract foreign direct investments by creating a free economic zone. According to market insights shared by Lobo (2023), the South Korean government spent US$40 billion to build a high-tech ecosystem in Songdo. The city offers ultra-fast Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and infrastructure to promote eco-friendly practices. Critiques claim that Songdo is a living organism as a city. The infrastructure contains robust sensors to monitor, regulate, and control city-based activities. However, the population size is less for the investments made by the Korean government to build a future city (Lobo, 2023). The government claimed that population constraint is temporary since Songdo offers a distinct value to the global business community. The free economic zone will attract enterprises, a skilled workforce, and modern households to resolve population constraints in the long run. Hence, Songdo is a promising smart city for upcoming generations to meet economic, social, and ecological needs. The government ensures residents’ satisfaction and safety to attract more footfall from global communities. Nonetheless, Dias (2022) found that the Korean government speculated significant economic growth after visioning Songdo. South Korea had idle land to build a new town and boost economic activities by attracting foreign direct investments (FDI). The idea of a free economic zone in a smart ecosystem promised significant returns to the Korean government. However, the COVID-19 outbreak and unfortunate geographical restrictions delayed the return on investments (ROI) for the Korean government. Songdo could not secure footfall from service-based economies like the United Kingdom (UK), the US, and Singapore in early phases ...